Border Breach: Hamas Deployment Ignored, Shoppers Reported

When miles of the border fence separating Gaza from Egypt was simultaneously brought down this week the first thing to enter my mind was the ease of movement it afforded Hamas and the enhanced ability it provided for the Palestinian terrorist group to infiltrate Egypt and, perhaps from another border, Israel.

Yet, most news articles chose to report a narrative that the Gaza siege had been broken, and thousands of hungry and thirsty Gazans crossed into Egypt on shopping sprees and supply runs. While there is of course truth to that account, it was not the reason Hamas leveled the iron fence. If it wanted relief for the Gazan citizens, it would halt the rocket attacks on Sderot, Ashkelon and other Israeli towns and cities. Bringing down the fence allowed Hamas to further the propaganda meme of victims of Israeli aggression and of humanitarian tragedy wrought by Israel.

Keep in mind two very important pieces of information (1 & 2) for proper context (3) here:

1. The steel posts of the Gaza-Egypt fence were severed - under cover and in secret by Hamas - over the course of weeks before the whole of the tract was brought down in a coordinated set of post-midnight blasts.

2. As the support post cutting was nearly complete, days before the fence was brought down Hamas stopped supplying fuel to its only power generation plant in order to create an international media storm of Palestinian plight at the hands of an Israeli aggressor fomenting humanitarian crisis.

3. The proper stage of perception and 'crisis' was then set to be effectively used to condition media coverage to characterize the streams of Gazans as fleeing siege and violence, and of course shopping, rather than coordinated Hamas operations for a.) Information Warfare; and b.) Infiltration into Egypt.

The final paragraphs of this Ha'aretz article finally cuts to the chase.

Hamas and other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip have used the newly open border with Egypt to send numerous terrorists into the Sinai peninsula over the last two days, with the goal of then sending them from Sinai into Israel to commit attacks, defense officials said Thursday.

The Israel Defense Forces, the police and the Shin Bet security service have consequently beefed up their forces and their alert level along the Israeli-Egyptian border in an effort to thwart infiltrations. Should terrorists succeed in entering Israel from Sinai, one defense official said, they might commit suicide bombings, kidnap soldiers or civilians, or attack small agricultural communities or military outposts.

In addition, the counterterrorism unit in the Prime Minister's Office warned Israelis against visiting Sinai and urged those who are already there to leave, since the flow of terrorists from Gaza also increases the likelihood of terror attacks in Sinai's tourist resorts. Egypt is also worried about the possibility of terror attacks in Sinai.

One member of the counterterrorism unit noted that the open border not only enables terrorists to enter Sinai, but would also make it easier for them to smuggle an abducted Israeli back into Gaza.

Remember that the popular vacation spot for Israelis, Sharm el-Sheikh, is nearby inside Egypt, a 'target rich environment' for Hamas terrorists who may gain access.

When there is a successful or failed bombing and/or kidnapping of Israelis at Sharm el-Sheikh in the coming weeks, remember all of the stories that you read about the Great Gaza Blackout and the sudden Palestinian shopping spree in Egypt - both blamed on Israel, and each story missing the terrorist operational component of the propaganda campaign.